When women give birth, they're depending on those around them to help them during the most vulnerable moments of their lives. Whether it's a doctor, nurse, or midwife, these professionals are by a woman's side as she physically and emotionally bares it all to bring a new life into this world. But after putting this enormous trust in another woman, one mom found out that her midwife betrayed her in the ultimate way — and she only discovered the truth after this woman helped birth and then cradled her newborn baby.
A new mom from England, who asked to remain anonymous, is speaking out after a nightmare birth experience that is beyond most expectant moms' worst fears. After giving birth to a baby girl last year, this mom found out her midwife, Joanne Lumsden, allegedly had a three-month affair with her partner shortly before the delivery.
Lumsden, who has been featured on the British childbirth reality show One Born Every Minute, allegedly met the dad-to-be while he was on a "boys' trip" shortly before the mom found out she was pregnant.
The mom told the Liverpool Echo that when her partner returned from the trip, he started acting "strangely" and made excuses throughout her pregnancy to miss appointments and scans. She also said he wasn't there for her scheduled C-section, and only came to the hospital afterward.
The dad's odd behavior made perfect sense the day after her delivery, when the mom was first told some of the truth about Lumsden's affair with her partner — while breastfeeding her newborn. She explains that she first became suspicious when it was clear that the pair knew each other before she introduced them, and they were particularly chatty. According to the mom, Lumsden waited until her partner left the maternity ward, as she was recovering from a C-section, to first admit to knowing her partner and shared that she had rubbed sunscreen on his back during his trip. The following week, the mom alleges that a different midwife came to her home and revealed the full details of Lumsden's affair.
"As a mum who was looking forward to the birth of her last baby, I was subjected to the most horrific ordeal any mother to be could ever imagine," she told the Echo. "As any woman about to give birth to their baby would understand, I put my utmost trust and confidence into the hands of a midwife who I thought was a medical professional with mine and my daughter's best interests at heart.”
The mom filed a complaint at Liverpool Women's Hospital, where Lumsden works and she delivered, stating that she feels "violated" by this major conflict of interest. According to the Echo, she waited until November to move forward with her complaints in order to wait until she was done breastfeeding and prepared to deal with the emotional drama that would come with it.
"This has amounted to the destruction of a family. Ms. Lumsden chose to ignore a series of opportunities to declare the conflict of interest in the many months, weeks, and days leading up to the birth of my daughter. Instead she took matters into her own hands and made sure she was present that day," she said. "As a woman, I am now left with a lifelong memory of the midwife holding my newborn baby in her arms with the knowledge that she was having sexual relations with my baby's father during my pregnancy and being fully aware that I was under the care of her place of work."
According to the Echo, Lumsden is no longer employed at the hospital and the second midwife is undergoing disciplinary proceedings. "The patient also made a formal complaint to the Trust and we have been in regular communication with them throughout the complaints process," a spokesperson from Liverpool Women's Hospital Trust said in a statement. "We would like to apologize for the upset caused to the patient as a result of their experience. The Trust took this action immediately upon being made aware of the incident and an internal investigation was also conducted. The disciplinary process undertaken with the members of staff involved is now being dealt with by the Nursing and Midwifery Council."
According to the mom, she feels violated not only because Lumsden assisted with the birth, but also because the midwife inserted a suppository into her rectum to help with the pain and cradled the baby, commenting how much she looks like her dad. "This will haunt me for as long as I live," she added. "This woman held my baby in her arms knowing that she had engaged in recent sexual activity with [the baby's] father."
Although this was the mom's fourth baby, she's the dad's first child. The couple are reportedly no longer together.
